The world of music technology has never been so exciting, complex and fast-moving. For students, teachers and industry professionals, the combination of rapidly evolving technologies and the demands of new academic syllabuses can be both thrilling and intimidating. Balancing a mastery of current technology with the need to learn new skills can be expensive, and easier said than done alongside existing study or work commitments. This is where The DAW Tutor comes in. Founded by musician, producer and teacher Alex Markham, The DAW Tutor is a tuition service that offers one-to-one private music production lessons across Greater London and the surrounding area, giving students access to a level of personalised expert support usually reserved for instrumental tuition.
Music technology has been at the forefront of the industry and a presence in KS5 and higher education curriculums for decades, which makes it surprising that an idea such as The DAW Tutor has only just come into existence. ‘I had been teaching music production privately on a part-time basis for many years,’ explains Markham. ‘But the spark that gave birth to The DAW Tutor was at the Music and Drama Education Expo in 2017, discovering that Rockschool had started offering Rockschool grades in music production. This made me realise that the market was much bigger than I had previously thought.’
Finding the formula
The DAW Tutor models itself on the teaching principles of a traditional one-to-one instrumental lesson. ‘You're absolutely correct,’ says Markham. ‘It's hard to give a summary of a typical lesson. As I'm sure is the case with most private music lessons, every student's needs are different. I have students of all ages and abilities and they all want to focus on different aspects of music production. I'm lucky in that I've been doing this for a long time, so I'm easily able to tailor my content to suit their individual goals. Ultimately though, the objective is to create a piece of music, or several, from scratch, so I guide each student through this process over a number of lessons, using whichever DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) they prefer.’
Given the various barriers to entry associated with music technology, it is interesting that The DAW Tutor's clients don't come from any particular demographic. ‘It's actually very diverse,’ Markham explains. ‘It ranges from A-level and BTEC students who want to improve their skills before heading off to study this subject at university, to retired musicians who want to learn how to record, produce and mix their own albums to a professional standard. Among my current crop of students are commercial radio DJs, aspiring hip hop artists, folk singers, GCSE music teachers, former punk rockers and even experienced recording studio owners who want to brush up on their skills.’
Keeping up with demand
Speaking to music technology students, the appeal of a service such as The DAW Tutor quickly becomes apparent. Katie Ellwood is an A-level music technology student hoping to study aspects of electronic music, production and composition at a conservatoire next year. ‘If you aren't fortunate enough within an institution to have regular out-of-lesson access to the technology and tutors, as a lot of people don't, you can see how it would be difficult to progress and master the technology without personalised, one-to-one support,’ she says. ‘One-to-one tuition on an instrument is vital – the same could be said to be true in this case. The demands of A-level, higher education and then being successful within a constantly changing industry are huge, and to have someone to help you keep one step ahead and your skills up to date would be a massive advantage.’
In this context, the popularity of The DAW Tutor is not shocking, though the extent of its success has surprised even Markham. ‘As with any small business, the first year can be tough going,’ he says. ‘I had been operating as a private tutor for over seven years and by rebranding as a music production school, I was essentially completely ripping up my well-established online presence and starting all over again. It took a while to build up the client base, but the demand is now going through the roof and the phone never stops ringing. I'm now earning a full-time income as a music production tutor and I'm the happiest I've ever been in my career.’
Thanks to this rapid growth and constant demand, Markham anticipates the business developing beyond its current model. ‘I currently teach across the entire Greater London area and large chunks of the South East, but the plan is to expand The DAW Tutor's area of coverage in the next year by taking on additional tutors who are based further afield,’ he says. ‘Technology is changing the way we make music and the tuition that I offer is helping to facilitate this change. The market is growing rapidly, so I have every hope that The DAW Tutor will become a nationwide service in the next few years.’
